METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING AN ABUTMENT FOR RECEIVING A DENTAL PROSTHESIS

Abstract

Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) made of titanium or of titanium alloy for receiving a dental prosthesis on a dental implant, extending along a longitudinal direction (I-I) between a proximal end (1a) and a distal end (1b), comprising: a proximal section (4) configured to be received in or on a dental implant, a distal section (5) configured to receive and support a dental prosthesis, said distal section (5) having a receiving surface (6) intended to receive said dental prosthesis by bonding.
Said receiving surface (6) is at least partially textured by laser.

Claims

1. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) made of titanium or of titanium alloy for receiving a dental prosthesis (2) on a dental implant (3), extending substantially along a longitudinal direction (I-I) between a proximal end (1a) and a distal end (1b), comprising: a proximal section (4) configured to be received in or on a dental implant (3) and extending along a first direction of elongation (II-II), a distal section (5) configured to receive and support a dental prosthesis (3) and extending along a second direction of elongation (III-III), said distal section (5) having a receiving surface (6) intended to receive said dental prosthesis (2) by bonding, wherein said receiving surface (6) is at least partially textured by laser.

2. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 1, wherein the texturing is carried out by hollowing out grooves (7) in said receiving surface (6), preferably forming a grid.

3. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 2, wherein the grid has a substantially rectangular pattern, preferably substantially square.

4. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 3, wherein the texturing is carried out by hollowing out grooves (7) that are oriented obliquely, preferably at substantially 45, with respect to the second direction of elongation (III-III).

5. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 3, wherein the grid is produced with a substantially square pattern, of which the length of the sides is between 150 m and 350 m, preferably between 200 m and 300 m.

6. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 2, wherein the grooves (7) have a depth of between 5 m and 15 m, preferably between 7 m and 10 m.

7. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 1, wherein, before or after the texturing of at least part of the receiving surface (6), the beam of the laser scans at least part of said receiving surface (6) so as to bring about a yellowing of said at least one part of said receiving surface (6).

8. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 7, wherein the beam of the laser scans the totality of said receiving surface (6) so as to bring about a yellowing of the whole of said receiving surface (6).

9. Method for manufacturing an abutment (1) according to claim 1, wherein: the abutment (1) has at least one rotation indexing member (9) comprising a face (9a-9c) or surface configured to cooperate with the dental prosthesis (2) in order to block said abutment (1) in rotation with respect to the dental prosthesis (2) about the second direction of elongation (III-III), said face (9a-9c) or surface is devoid of texturing.

10. Method for manufacturing a dental restoration assembly (13) comprising: a dental prosthesis (2), preferably manufactured from a ceramic material, an abutment (1) made of titanium or of titanium alloy, for receiving a dental prosthesis (2) on a dental implant (3), in which method: an abutment (1) is provided which has been obtained by implementing the manufacturing method according to claim 1, a dental prosthesis (2) is provided which comprises an inner housing (10) with a connection surface (11) intended to be attached and fixed by bonding to the receiving surface (6) of the abutment (1), the dental prosthesis (2) is attached and fixed to the abutment (1) by bonding between the connection surface (11) of the dental prosthesis (2) and the receiving surface (6) of the abutment (1), the connection surface (11) of the dental prosthesis (2) has not undergone abrasive surface treatment, in particular by sandblasting.

11. Abutment (1) made of titanium or of titanium alloy for receiving a dental prosthesis (2) a on dental implant (3), extending substantially along a longitudinal direction (I-I) between a proximal end (1a) and a distal end (1b), having: a proximal section (4) configured to be received in or on a dental implant (3) and extending along a first direction of elongation (II-II), a distal section (5) configured to receive and support a dental prosthesis (2) and extending along a second direction of elongation (III-III), said distal section (5) having a receiving surface (6) intended to receive said dental prosthesis (2) by bonding, Wherein said receiving surface (6) is at least partially textured by laser.

12. Abutment (1) according to claim 11, wherein the texturing comprises grooves (7) hollowed out in said receiving surface (6), preferably forming a grid.

13. Abutment (1) according to claim 12, wherein the grid has a substantially rectangular pattern, preferably substantially square.

14. Abutment (1) according to claim 13, wherein the grid has grooves (7) that are oriented obliquely, preferably at substantially 45, with respect to the second direction of elongation (III-III).

15. Abutment (1) according to claim 13, the grid has a substantially square wherein pattern, of which the length of the sides is between 150 m and 350 m, preferably between 200 m and 300 m.

16. Abutment (1) according to claim 12, wherein the grooves (7) have a depth of between 5 m and 15 m, preferably between 7 m and 10 m.

17. Abutment (1) according to claim 16, wherein the grooves (7) are bordered, along their sides, by material beads (8a-8b) having a height of between 5 m and 15 m, preferably of between 7 m and 10 m.

18. Abutment (1) according to claim 11, wherein at least part of said receiving surface (6) has a yellow coloration.

19. Abutment (1) according to claim 18, wherein the whole of said receiving surface (6) has a yellow coloration.

20. Abutment (1) according to claim 11, wherein: the abutment (1) has at least one rotation indexing member (9) comprising a face (9a-9c) or surface configured to cooperate with the dental prosthesis (2) in order to block said abutment (1) in rotation with respect to the dental prosthesis (2) about the second direction of elongation (III-III), said face (9a-9c) or surface is devoid of texturing by laser.

21. Abutment (1) according to claim 1, wherein the receiving surface (6) has an area of less than 30 mm.sup.2.

22. Dental restoration assembly (13) having: an abutment (1) obtained by the method according to claim 1 or an abutment (1) according to claim 11, a dental prosthesis (2), preferably manufactured from a ceramic material and having an inner housing (10) a connection surface (11) intended to be attached and fixed by bonding to the receiving surface (6) of the abutment (1).

23. Dental restoration assembly (13) according to claim 22, wherein the connection surface (11) of the dental prosthesis (2) has not undergone abrasive surface treatment, in particular by sandblasting.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0067] Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of particular embodiments given with reference to the appended figures, in which :

[0068] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an abutment according to the present invention;

[0069] FIG. 2 is a side view of the abutment from FIG. 1;

[0070] FIG. 3 is a detail view of part of the receiving surface of the abutment from FIG. 1, taken by means of a scanning electron microscope at a first magnification;

[0071] FIG. 4 is a detail view of part of the receiving surface of the abutment from FIG. 1, taken by means of a scanning electron microscope at a second magnification;

[0072] FIG. 5 shows a titanium alloy disc on which, in addition to a texturing identical to that of the receiving surface of the abutment from FIG. 1, a yellow coloration has been carried out by laser treatment;

[0073] FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a

[0074] dental prosthesis intended to be attached and bonded to the abutment from FIG. 1;

[0075] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a dental implant, of a dental restoration assembly comprising the abutment from FIG. 1 and the dental prosthesis from FIG. 6, and of a screw;

[0076] FIG. 8 is a side view, in longitudinal section, of the dental implant, of the dental restoration assembly and of the screw from FIG. 7; and

[0077] FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view of the dental restoration assembly from FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0078] When identical numerical references are used in a plurality of embodiments or variants of the invention or in a plurality of figures, these numerical references designate identical or similar elements in each of the embodiments or variants or in each of the figures.

[0079] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an abutment 1 made of titanium alloy (more precisely of Ti6Al4V alloy) for receiving a dental prosthesis 2 (FIG. 6) on a dental implant 3 (FIGS. 7 and 8) by bonding.

[0080] The dental prosthesis is preferably manufactured from a ceramic material (zirconia or lithium disilicate, for example) and for this reason has a translucent character. Other translucent materials can also be used.

[0081] The abutment 1. extends substantially along a longitudinal direction I-I between a proximal end 1a and a distal end 1b. The abutment 1 has: [0082] a proximal section 4 configured to be received in the dental implant 3 and extending along a first direction of elongation II-II, [0083] a distal section 5 configured to receive and support the dental prosthesis 2 (FIG. 8) and extending along a second direction of elongation III-III, said distal section 5 having a receiving surface 6 intended to receive said dental prosthesis 2 by bonding.

[0084] At least one of the first II-II and second III-III directions of elongation coincides with the longitudinal direction I-I. Here, the first II-II. and second III-III directions of elongation both coincide with the longitudinal direction I-I. However, the first II-II and second III-III directions of elongation can form between them a non-zero angle, such that the abutment 1 is of the angled abutment type.

[0085] The receiving surface 6 is partially textured by laser.

[0086] The texturing more precisely comprises grooves 7 hollowed out in said receiving surface 6. The grooves 7 form a grid.

[0087] It will be seen more particularly from FIG. 2 that the grooves 7 are oriented obliquely, substantially at 45, with respect to the second direction of elongation III-III.

[0088] The grooves 7 are more particularly visible in FIGS. 3 and 4, which are views taken by means of a scanning electron microscope.

[0089] The grid formed by the grooves 7 has a substantially square pattern.

[0090] The length of the sides is between 150 m and 350 m, preferably between 200 m and 300 m. Here, the length of the sides is approximately 250 m.

[0091] The grooves 7 have a depth of between 5 m and 15 m, preferably between 7 m and 10 m. Here, the grooves 7 have a depth of approximately 9.5 m.

[0092] It will be seen more particularly from FIG. 4 that the grooves 7 are bordered, along their sides, by material beads 8a and 8b. These beads 8a and 8b result from the hollowing-out of the grooves 7 by means of the laser, and they have a height of between 5 m and 15 m, preferably of between 7 m and 10 m. Here, the beads 8a and 8b have been measured as having an average height of approximately 8 m.

[0093] The bottom of the grooves 7 has striations substantially perpendicular to the direction of elongation of the grooves 7. These striations result from the combination of the impulses and advance of the laser source.

[0094] The texturing by means of the grooves 7 has made it possible to increase very considerably (by 87% in relation to a sandblasted abutment) the bonding retention force of the dental prosthesis 2 on the abutment 1 against an extraction force applied along the second direction of elongation III-III (coinciding with the longitudinal direction I-I).

[0095] The grooves 7 have been formed by laser using a marking/engraving machine sold commercially under the name Combiline Advanced WT by the Swiss company Rofin Baasel (recently bought out by the American company Coherent Inc.). This machine is provided with a laser source sold commercially under the name PowerLine F 20 varia, which has an average maximum output power of 19W.

[0096] To produce the texturing with grooves 7 in FIGS. 3 and 4, the following parameters have been used: [0097] power: 50% [0098] frequency: 50 kHz [0099] speed: 500 mm/s [0100] impulse duration: 100 ns [0101] focus: 0% [0102] pitch: 250 m [0103] number of passes: 2

[0104] In order to improve the aesthetic result of the dental restoration, at least part of the receiving surface 6 has been treated by laser in order to present a yellow coloration. This treatment (yellowing) can be carried out before or after the grooves 7 are hollowed out.

[0105] FIG. 5 is a photograph of a disc made of titanium alloy (the same as that of the abutment 1), on which the yellowing treatment has been carried out and in which grooves 7 have been hollowed out that are identical to those of FIGS. 3 and 4. The yellowing treatment has been deliberately carried out on flat disc made of titanium alloy in order to clearly show the yellow coloration obtained, without the visual result being affected by the convex character of the receiving surface 6 of the abutment 1.

[0106] Such coloration of the receiving surface 6 is able to contribute to the dental prosthesis 2 having the appearance of a natural tooth.

[0107] Preferably, the whole of the receiving surface 6 has a yellow coloration. To do this, the totality of said receiving surface is scanned with the beam of the laser.

[0108] The yellowing treatment is carried out using the same machine that was used for producing the texturing with grooves 7, but with different operating parameters, namely: [0109] power: between 50% and 90% [0110] frequency: between 100 kHz and 300 kHz [0111] speed: between 50 mm/s and 500 mm/s [0112] impulse duration: between 14 ns and 50 ns [0113] focus: 0% [0114] pitch: 50 m [0115] number of passes: 1

[0116] More precisely, the parameters used to obtain the yellow colour in the photograph of FIG. 5 are: [0117] power: 70% [0118] frequency: 200 KHz [0119] speed: 400 mm/s [0120] impulse duration: 30 ns [0121] focus: 0% [0122] pitch: 50 m [0123] number of passes: 1

[0124] It will be seen more particularly from FIGS. 1 and 2 that the distal section 5 is present substantially in the form of a cylinder of circular cross section extending along the second direction of elongation III-III.

[0125] For positioning the dental prosthesis 2 in a predetermined orientation on the abutment 1, the abutment 1 has a rotation indexing member 9. The rotation indexing member 9 makes it possible to block the abutment 1 in rotation with respect to the dental prosthesis 2 about the second direction of elongation III-III (coinciding with the longitudinal direction I-I).

[0126] The rotation indexing member 9 here comprises three flats formed at 120 degrees to one another on the lateral surface of the distal section 5, resulting in three plane faces 9a, 9b, 9c.

[0127] For its part, the dental prosthesis 2 comprises an inner housing 10 extending along a third direction of elongation IV-IV. The inner housing 10 has a connection surface 11 intended to be attached and fixed by bonding to the receiving surface 6 of the abutment 1 (FIGS. 6 to 8).

[0128] It will be seen more particularly from FIG. 9 (which is a sectional view along the plane P of FIG. 8) that the connection surface 11 has three plane faces 12a, 12b and 12c which are arranged at 120 degrees to one another.

[0129] When the dental prosthesis 2 is received by engagement (and bonding) on the distal section 5 of the abutment 1, the three plane faces 9a to 9c of the distal section 5 cooperate with the three plane faces 12a to 12c of the dental prosthesis 2 in order to block the abutment 1 in rotation with respect to the dental prosthesis 2 about the second direction of elongation III-III (coinciding with the longitudinal direction I-I).

[0130] To guarantee satisfactory functioning of the indexing performed between the abutment 1 and the dental prosthesis 2, the faces 9a to 9c of the indexing member 9 are devoid of texturing by laser. This therefore avoids the formation of material beads similar to the beads 8a and 8b, which material beads could adversely affect the correct engagement of the dental prosthesis 2 on the abutment 1 and their correct indexing.

[0131] It will be seen more particularly from FIG. 7 that the proximal section 4 of the abutment 1 ends with an indexing section 4a which has a non-circular cross section (substantially triangular here). The indexing section 4a is intended to be received in an indexing housing 3a (FIG. 8) of non-circular and complementary cross section. The indexing section 4a and the indexing housing 3a cooperate in order to block the abutment 1 in rotation with respect to the dental implant 3 about the longitudinal direction I-I.

[0132] After it has been textured (and optionally coloured) by laser, the abutment 1 can be used to manufacture a dental restoration assembly 13 (FIGS. 7 and 8) with the aid of the dental prosthesis 1.

[0133] To do this, the dental prosthesis 2 is attached (by bringing the second direction of elongation III-III and the third direction of elongation IV-IV into coincidence) and fixed to the abutment 1 by bonding between the connection surface 11 of the dental prosthesis 2 and the receiving surface 6 of the abutment 1.

[0134] The fact that the receiving surface 6 has been textured by laser makes it possible in particular to avoid damaging the circular ridge 1c (FIGS. 1 and 2) which delimits the receiving surface 6 of the abutment 1. Thus, the proximal section 4 of the abutment 1 forms a continuous prolongation of the dental prosthesis 2, avoiding the presence of discontinuities that favour the accumulation of tartar and bacteria.

[0135] Normally, in order to promote good bonding retention of the dental prosthesis 2 on the abutment 1, the connection surface 11 of the dental prosthesis 2 is subjected to an abrasive surface treatment, in particular by sandblasting.

[0136] However, abrasive treatment of this kind can lead to degradation of the surface 14 (substantially in the shape of a crown) intended to come into contact with a corresponding surface 15 (also substantially in the shape of a crown and forming part of the receiving surface 6) provided on the abutment 1 and delimited by the circular ridge 1c, and/or to degradation of the outer surface of the transgingival portion PT of the abutment 1 (FIG. 8).

[0137] To limit the risks of discontinuities between the abutment 1 and the dental prosthesis 2 still further, which discontinuities favour the accumulation of and tartar bacteria, it is possible to dispense with applying an abrasive surface treatment, in particular by sandblasting, to the connection surface 11 of the dental prosthesis 2.

[0138] The applicant has in fact observed here that, surprisingly, the improvement in the bonding retention of the dental prosthesis 2 on the abutment 1 by laser texturing is such that it is conceivable to omit treatment of the connection surface 11 of the dental prosthesis 2 by means of an abrasive surface treatment, in particular by sandblasting.

[0139] It will be seen more particularly from FIGS. 7 and 8 that a screw 16 enables the dental restoration assembly 13 to be retained on the dental implant 3.

[0140] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments that have been explicitly described, and instead it includes the various variants and generalizations contained within the scope of the following claims.